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In 1865, a Welsh speaking colony was established in the valley of the Chubut River in Patagonia Argentina. The original emigrants sailed from Liverpool on the Mimosa and they were joined in the 1880s by a second wave of emigrants and a further colony was established in the foothills of the Andes. Although measures were later taken to remove some of the colonists to Canada and South Africa, most of the settlers and their descendants remained in Argentina. The National Archives holds a vast amount of material relating to this relatively unknown but fascinating episode in British history. This talk looks at the main records relating to the history and development of the settlement from the earliest days to modern times, and examines why the Welsh travelled to Patagonia, what they encountered when they got there, and how the colony developed over the years.

Steve Hindle of the University of Warwick shows how contemporary issues relating to international migration were also present in 17th century parish migration. He looks at how authorities throughout British history used different technologies to try to stop forgery and theft and control migration.
This talk was delivered as part of the Using Archival Sources to Inform Contemporary Policy Debates conference.

The Wiener Library holds many personal accounts of children evacuated from Nazi Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia between December 1938 and September 1939. Using individual first-hand accounts sourced from The Wiener Library and documents held at The National Archives, this talk gives insights into how Britain dealt with the refugee children who arrived on the Kindertransports and the difficulties they faced.

This talk looks at immigration into Britain from the 16th to the 20th century and the relatively few sources that can be used to trace immigrants entering, and living, in this country. Records discussed can provide vital clues to the overseas origins of denizens or naturalised British citizens, as well as providing insight into their first years in their adopted country.

Paul Smith, company archivist of Thomas Cook UK & Ireland, offers a general account of the holdings of the Thomas Cook Archives, with particular reference to records that might prove useful for family historians, such as staff magazines, contracts of employment and passenger lists. The talk also provides a brief history of the Thomas Cook organisation, and explains the importance of its archives for anyone, from academics to film producers, with an interest in the history of travel since the mid-19th century.

Over 162,000 British and Irish convicts were transported to Australia between 1787 and 1868. This talk explores the reasons behind the policy of transportation and looks at the experiences of the people who were shipped beyond the seas, using case studies from the archives.